More victims sought after urine monitor's bribery arrest

Harris County urine monitor charged with bribery

BRIAN ROGERS, Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle |
July 2, 2009

Prosecutors Thursday said they are seeking more possible victims after arresting a Harris County employee accused of taking bribes to provide clean urine to defendants out on bail.

Jorge Alfonso Campble, 45, was arrested Wednesday on charges of bribery and tampering with evidence after investigators set up a sting with marked money, video recording equipment and a 23-year-old defendant on bail for possession of marijuana, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Devine said.

He is the second county urine monitor to face bribery charges in connection with court-required urinalysis in two months.

Devine said Campble, an employee of Harris County Pretrial Services, is accused of taking bribes ranging from $65 to $90 on six occasions since April 15 to provide drug-free urine. Devine said he was asking for $100 for each visit.

Campble began working at the pretrial services department, which monitors defendants who are awaiting trial, in August 2004, according to county records.

Campble’s court-appointed attorney did not return calls for comment.

In May, a urine monitor who worked for Harris County’s Community Supervision and Corrections Department for less than two months was charged with bribery after being accused of taking $200 to turn in a fraudulent drug test form.

The case against Thomas Edward Walker, 22, who was accused of falsifying a report instead of ensuring that the person’s urinalysis was performed correctly, are pending.